Blessing of the Broken Heart
by samuraistar
Summary: In the despair of an unrequited love, a young man invokes a curse that proves beneficial to our favorite ghost. Rated T for suicide. :(
1. Silver Blood

Um…hi, everybody! My name's Angela (samuraistar) and I freaking love GaMM! I saw all the episodes on YouTube, as uploaded by NoMudinJoyville (if you're reading this, please accept my thanks). So I thought I'd tiptoe into Gull Cottage with you guys and submit my humble and very short work. If you ever see my other stuff, this is MUCH shorter than I usually do.

It's been a while (maybe over a year) since I've uploaded anything. I've still got some other stories I'm stuck on that hopefully my inner muse will meet me halfway on. Anyway, I've been watching GaMM on and off lately and after reading a couple of fanfics, I kind of got smacked in the face with inspiration. I hope my regulars will stick with me for this one and I hope all you "gammies," I think you're called, will enjoy this.

Please read and review and please regard me kindly!

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_"Expectation is the root of all heartache."_- William Shakespeare

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**Chapter 1: Silver Blood**  
The dark sea danced in a mad rage, spurred on by the furiously howling wind. No mortal of this earth would be caught dead in such dangerous weather tonight, not if he didn't want to get knocked off his feet and rolled into the ocean. Daniel Gregg, however, was not mortal; with his usual sharp vigilance, he paced the Widow's Walk like a night watchman, completely immovable before the wild nightwind. He enjoyed that fact almost as much as he enjoyed watching the sea; it reminded him of sailing through hurricanes with his men rushing about their duties while he kept a steel grip on the helm. For a moment it sounded like the mournful cry of a forlorn lover.

Unbeknownst to him, that's exactly what it was.

* * *

Weighed down by the despair of a hopeless love, a young man staggered to his knees in the cemetery. He had no idea where he was, some hick town in the New England region. What did he care? He was miles away from…_her_, and that was all that mattered.

He opened his eyes and allowed his hot tears to fall on the grave he'd tripped over. The moonlight turned them to mercury on his hands and he held them up to look at them.

Such beautiful tears, he thought. Normal tears would not be worth shedding over the girl he loved; liquid silver was much more precious. Would she receive them if he sent them to her? Or would she laugh in his face, scorning his true feelings as she had so many times to so many like him?

It didn't matter now, he decided as his dagger slid out of its sheath. Its straight line of shining whitish silver was literally a sharp contrast to his moon tears. Silver was a second prize in the world his lady came from; nothing less than pure gold would earn so much as a second glance. _She _was gold…and he was only silver.

The knife glared at him as if in anger that it was just like him. The idea that a beautiful weapon like itself should do away with the likes of _him_—to be the _same_ as him—was surely an insult to it. "How _dare_ you be the same as me!" it seemed to say. The man smiled up at it as he held it up.

"Don't worry," he said to it, "You'll be rid of me soon." He held his right wrist next to the blade. "We'll only be the same a little longer," he continued, "since my blood will be on both of us…but it'll be all right." The knife edged closer. "I won't be like you after this. I won't be here to remind you of what you are not." He pressed the point to his wrist where it met his hand and braced himself with a wretched expression. He spoke one word in a hoarse whisper.

_"Gold!"_

According to medical science, blood is clear when it's inside us and only turns red when spilled. When it fell from _this_ young man, he thought it looked black and silver…again.

"Always silver," he sighed as he sank to his side, "never gold." He switched to his other hand and the blood from this one spurted from the artery and splashed onto an old tombstone while the grave soaked it up from his first hand. The name was easier to read now that it was highlighted in blood and moonlight.

_Captain Daniel Edward Gregg_

The young man smiled to himself; he had often heard of ghosts haunting the seas, searching for their bones, their graves, their eternal rest. He wondered if any of them had died in love like he was about to. How many had died thinking of the girls that were waiting for them? Or did any of them flee to the sailor's life feeling flung from the cruelty of the land and the fleeting fancies of its female inhabitants? Perhaps this Captain Gregg was a ghost; perhaps he was flitting about on the waves or haunting one of the beach houses. Perhaps he had died for love, too.

"Captain," whispered the dying lover, "or whatever spirit haunts this town for want of love, hear my final prayer: I offer my life in place of yours. A ghost will wander for hundreds of years and I am sure you have. Mortality has brought me nothing but pain, but you…your suffering has surely been worse. I would gladly wander your waters, rather than carry this fatal love a moment longer. Ghost of the sea, I have taken my life. Now you can take yours back. Find the love that was snatched from me; find the happiness that was denied me. Trade with me, spirit. I will be the ghost and you can be the man."

His grip loosened on the knife and his vision began to blur.

"I could only be silver," were his final words, "but you…surely…will be someone's gold."

* * *

Captain Gregg stopped where he was and looked out to sea. Something was different. It wasn't the beach or the wind. It wasn't the cottage; everyone was sleeping soundly.

No, it was him. _He _was different. He _felt_ different.

"Different from what?" he whispered to himself. Then he gasped; it wasn't that he felt different. It was that he felt at all.

"Rubbish!" he said, "You're a ghost, old man. You can't feel."

For the most part, he wasn't; it was very faint, like someone just waking up, but still…it disturbed him. He'd been dead for a hundred years and had almost forgotten a lot of feelings.

"Aah!" His hands flew to his head and he doubled over. He remembered _that_ feeling. His head was pounding! But how? There were so many things required for a headache that he'd lived without for a century!

Now he was reeling and had to catch himself on the railing! And he was heavy!

_"How is this happening?!"_ he exclaimed hoarsely, his voice lost on the wind, "_What_ is happening?!"

Then, to put the cherry on the cake, something else happened that truly frightened him.

Captain Gregg lost consciousness.

* * *

An hour later he came back to find himself sprawled out on his stomach. As he collected himself, he wondered again what was happening to him. This was not normal behavior for a ghost! He just hoped no one inside had heard him through the noise of the storm. He wouldn't _dream_ of troubling them with worries he didn't even understand himself.

Maybe if he could get down to the beach, he wouldn't disturb the family with all the thumping around. With way more effort than it should've taken him, the captain willed himself to the shore and sat back on the slope so he could think.

He had an idea of what was going on, but he dared not say it to himself. It was too impossible, to inexplicable…too much for him to hope for.

But the moon would not let him hide so easily from himself; it took advantage of its fullness and shone on him for all it was worth. It made him see his shadow on the sand and its light on his hands.

"Impossible," he whispered, "It can't be!"

"Oh, yes it can," the moon seemed to say, "and it is." The moon had seen too much this night; the anguish of the hopeless lover was not to be wasted just because this ghost-in-denial didn't know about him.

Still staring at his hands, Captain Gregg slowly got to his feet and walked down to the main part of the beach.

And there he stood, staring in dumbfounded silence at his bright, warm, solid hands.

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**Author's Review****:**  
Happy Valentine's Day! It gets better, I promise! I'll try to upload the next one as soon as I possibly can (like you've never heard that one before, LOL).

This is the first live-action show I've ever done a fic for, so this is kind of a milestone for me as a writer! Yay! I hope you guys enjoy this and look forward to more!

Please review!


	2. Gold Water

Anyway, this story's probably just another run-of-the-mill, Captain Gregg-coming-back-to-life kind of stories, but this one's mine and was written according to the dictates of my inner muse (I've had her all these years and I don't even know her name yet!). I hope you'll enjoy this! (Btw, I've been on a Phineas and Ferb kick lately, so the next two chapters will probably have quotes from them).

A special thank you to my faithful regular, whom I usually just call Luna-chan! Love ya!

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_"Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!"_ – Phineas, _Phineas and Ferb_

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**Chapter 2: Gold Water**  
Maybe it was woman's intuition, maybe it was writer's intuition, or maybe it was a combination of the two, but somehow, when Carolyn Muir got up the next morning, she knew something had changed. It puzzled her; nothing was different that _she_ could see. The house was the same, the children were sleeping in because it was a Saturday, Martha was downstairs cooking breakfast and talking to Scruffy, Captain Gregg was…

Wait, where _was _Captain Gregg? He hadn't wished her good morning with his disembodied voice. He hadn't popped up next to the telescope. He hadn't done or said _anything._

Wrapping up in a shawl, Carolyn opened the French doors and walked onto the balcony. She saw someone standing on the beach. Who was it? She took a peek through the telescope and looked surprised; it was Captain Gregg! What was he doing down there so early and all alone? Granted, he did like to have some alone time once in a while, but she was pretty sure he didn't spend those moments just standing and doing nothing, which was precisely what he was doing now. Absolutely nothing.

It seemed strange to be concerned for a ghost, but Carolyn was. She pulled on her coat and boots and left the house, making excuses to Martha on her way out. She jogged down to the beach just as the first rim of the sun started climbing up out of the water to turn the surface into gold. As she got closer, she could see he was holding his hands halfway up but not looking at them. He was looking out to sea, silent and unmoving.

"Well, this is an interesting turn-around," she smiled, trying a humorous approach, "Normally you're the one who comes to me!"

He didn't answer. She stopped smiling.

"Captain?" she asked, "Are you all right?"

Nothing. She moved to stand in front of him and saw something she'd never seen before: A ghost with a spooked face. He looked at her and she could see sunlight in his eyes, which were dark underneath. _That _looked unnatural.

"What's wrong?" she asked seriously. He stared at her for a minute.

"Show me your hand," he finally said softly. She looked confused but held up her hand between them. She was further confused to see Captain Gregg move his own hand towards hers. Why did he bother? He was a ghost! She sighed inwardly as she waited for his hand to pass through hers…

And gasped outwardly when it didn't.

She was so shocked she couldn't move any more than the captain did! His hand was warm and firm against hers; she stared at them for a while then looked at him again. Her heart began to race.

"You're _crying_," she said in further surprise. A single tear was slipping down his face with the tiniest sheen of sunrise inside it. He blinked and smiled a bit at her expression.

"So are you," he replied a bit breathlessly. She chuckled through her own tears but when Daniel laced their fingers together so that they were _really_ holding hands, she gripped his hand back and stared again in disbelief.

"I don't understand," she said, "What happened?"

"I wish I knew," he shook his head.

"What were you doing last night?" she asked.

"Nothing unusual," he explained as he lowered their hands without letting go, "I was up on the Widow's Walk making my rounds and all of a sudden I began to feel again. I managed to use the last of my power to come here."

"Incredible," she mused, "It seems like a miracle!"

"I agree," he said, "I hardly know what to make of all this. I stayed here all night trying to make heads or tails…but I haven't the foggiest. I can scarcely believe something like this could happen!"

"How do you feel, physically?" she asked. With his free hand he touched his chest.

"Strange," he said, "but normal for…for a mortal." He looked at her again with that "bedroom eyes" look she was familiar with. She knew what he was thinking and when he quietly said "Permit me," she nodded and walked with his gentle pull into his embrace.

This was more than either of them had ever dreamed: A mortal woman and a ghost, kept apart so long by their states of being, now stood in each other's arms with the light of the rising sun outlining them in gold. The sun had a much happier task today than the moon had last night. Daniel watched it dance on the water and felt as if he'd found the most priceless treasure ever created and he silently praised God for this insane yet beautiful moment of serendipity.

Carolyn was no less grateful and amazed; she closed her eyes and rejoiced in this moment. How many times had she danced with him? How many times had he held her? Plenty…but only in her dreams. That was perhaps what amazed her the most, that this was no dream. The arms she had secretly longed for were finally around her, and they were stronger in real life. She had no more of an explanation for this than he did, and she wasn't sure how long he'd even _be_ this way, but she'd make good use of whatever time they had.

"Listen," Daniel whispered, "Do you hear it?" He gently moved her head right over his heart; its healthy rhythm brought tears back to her closed eyes.

"Yes," she sighed, "It's beautiful."

"It's yours," he whispered. She smiled.

"We should get you inside," she said as she pulled back slightly, "Can you walk?"

"But of course I can _walk_," he scoffed, "I may have forgotten _some_ things about mortality, but I certainly remember how to…"

He stumbled and Carolyn quickly braced him up.

"One step at a time, Captain," she smiled, "You need to get your land legs back!"

"Rubbish," he muttered, but did as she said. That was a downside to mortality: He was completely helpless. He kept an arm around Mrs. Muir as she baby-stepped him towards Gull Cottage and wondered what the rest of the family would think.

* * *

Candy and Jonathan Muir flanked the sides of the doorway to the living room, where their beloved captain had just been deposited on the couch by their mother.

"Jonathan," Candy asked quietly, "How'd she do that?"

"I don't know," he shook his head, "He's never needed help before."

"I thought you said ghosts can't touch people," she looked at him.

"That's what _he_ told me," he nodded at the captain, "Maybe something happened."

"What could happen to a ghost?" she said curiously. He just shrugged and watched.

"Children," their mother gently called, "Would you both come in, please?"

They obeyed and sat in the big chair across from the sofa, where Mrs. Muir sat next to Captain Gregg. He was sitting up straight, but Jonathan thought he looked like he was leaning on the arm a little, like he was tired but didn't want to show it.

"Candy, Jonathan," the mom started, "I'm sure you noticed how I…how Captain Gregg entered the house just now."

"Yes, ma'am," they chorused seriously.

"We're not sure what happened," she continued, "but it appears that…for now, at least…Captain Gregg…" She hesitated and shared a glance with him. "Captain Gregg…has come back to life."

She could feel the weight of the words as she said them and she saw different reactions in her children's eyes. Candy showed the more obvious shock that would soon turn to joy; Jonathan was quiet and confused and couldn't believe it. He got up and walked over to the captain, who scooted forward to face him.

Jonathan had always had a special bond with Captain Gregg. He was the first Muir to not only see him and talk with him, but to show him courtesy as well. Since then, the captain had been a constant presence in his life. He had become a friend and confidant to the young boy, a role model, even. As sad as it was to say, he had even almost replaced his father. Jonathan had been little more than a toddler when Mr. Muir had died, and now here was someone who, to him, at least, exemplified everything of what it was to be a man. Never in his young life had Jonathan ever imagined that something like this could happen. But then, he heard that most miracles didn't make sense and though this _certainly_ didn't make sense, it was the greatest miracle he could think of.

Jonathan broke into a happy smile and threw his arms around the captain's neck. After a moment's hesitation, Daniel slowly wrapped his strong arms around the small boy. The look on the man's face as he held his little shipmate was synonymous with that of a father home from sea meeting his son for the first time. Carolyn captured this precious image in her mind's eye and stored it in the treasure chest of her heart. Candy joined in and that did it for their poor mother. She turned her face away and quietly left the room so the happy moment wouldn't be spoiled by her crying. It was too beautiful and her heart was too full; she had to let it out.

Martha followed her out to the front porch.

"Mrs. Muir, what's wrong?" she asked, gently touching her back.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful it overwhelms you?" said Mrs. Muir.

"You mean the captain?" Martha looked back and took a peek in the living room. She came back with her own expression of realization. "He's really alive, isn't he?"

"Yes, Martha," Carolyn nodded, "He really is…which means we have a few things to figure out."

"Like living arrangements?" Martha guessed.

"Yes, that," Carolyn nodded, "and I also want to find out how this happened and why."

"I'm curious, too," Martha said as they turned to walk back inside, "but why bother?" Carolyn turned back.

"If we can find out how Captain Gregg came back to life, Martha," she said, "we'll probably find out how much time we have with him."

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**Author's Review****:**  
Yeah right, honey. Good luck with that! LOL

You know, this may be the first story I've ever written that didn't have references to other things! Normally I thrive on reference jokes! (probably 'cause I'm a creative leech) Oh, well. Review, please, and stay tuned for the exciting (sort of) conclusion!


	3. Crimson Blood

Thanks for the reviews, everybody! I wasn't sure if I'd get any because let's face it, GaMM is kind of an obscure show…or at least, a lesser known show. So I was kind of nervous about it, but it all worked out somehow! Yay!

Now then, this is the final chapter. I also have a one-shot lined up, but that's all I've got for this show so far. I've got an idea, I just don't know if it'll work or not. We'll talk about that in the Author Review. Enjoy the final chapter!

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_"How sad that you were not born in my time, nor I in yours."_ – Captain Gregg, GaMM Pilot

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**Chapter 3: Crimson Blood**  
Carolyn sat back against one of the posts on the front porch and watched the sea. Captain Gregg had expressed a wish to bid the children good night and Martha was singing badly yet happily to herself while doing the dishes. Carolyn smiled at that; she sounded so happy to have a man to cook for!

"Good evening, Madam," he greeted as he stepped onto the porch.

"Hello, Captain," she smiled, "Did the kids go down easy for you?"

"Oh, they were perfect," he said and sat down across from her, "A finer pair of young ones never walked the earth."

They both sat quietly and watched the ocean for a while, then Carolyn glanced at him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Hans Christian Andersen," he answered.

"Oh?"

"Have you ever heard the story of the girl in the red shoes?" he said.

"Yes," she nodded, "She couldn't stop dancing and finally she cut her feet off and turned to her church. She died of a broken heart."

"Aye," he said, "but her heart broke with joy. She achieved that sense of peace we all strive for and her heart was so full that it broke in two. I was thinking…I know how she felt. Even in my first life, seeing the world and all its wonders, courting the sea as a knight a lady, seizing the helm of my ship…I never dreamed I could feel as happy as you and your family make me…and I wonder that my new heart does not break for the joy it feels."

"Well, don't push yourself," she cautioned, "You haven't lived for a hundred years. You'll need to get used to it." She looked away.

"What troubles you, Madam?" he asked, concerned, "You don't seem quite as happy as…as I hoped you would be." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she knew by now she couldn't hide her feelings from him.

"Don't get me wrong, Captain," she faced him, "I'm happy that you're alive again. Matter of fact, I can't remember the last thing that made me happier…I just…" She blushed and averted her eyes. "I don't want to get my hopes." He looked confused.

"Do you mean," he asked, "you're afraid I'll go back to being a ghost at any given moment?"

"It's more than that," she sighed wearily and stood up, "You know it is." She held onto the post and stared out on the lawn. The captain shifted and rubbed his forehead, finding himself at a loss for words.

"The last man I fell in love with died," she said with quiet sadness, "_That_ broke my heart." She looked at him again and he saw tears in her eyes. "I don't think I could bear it again."

There was no chivalrous charm in the eyes of the captain this time. He was looking at her with understanding and sympathy and the truest depth of his love for her.

He stood up and stepped closer to her, keeping eye contact. He wanted so much to hold her again, so much he could hardly stand it, but he was afraid she'd shy away. So he did the next best thing he knew.

"Life," he said, "however it comes to us, is always fleeting. We can never tell how long we'll last in this realm of mortality; that is precisely why we must spend these precious moments with those who matter most to us. We have to let them know how we feel rather than torture ourselves with the unforeseeable future. I'd like to start with you."

He laid his hand over his heart.

"This heart of mine stopped beating a hundred years ago," he told her sincerely, "but I never truly lost it until I met you, and it hasn't belonged to me since." He stepped closer and lowered his voice as if the whole world was listening. "I love you, Carolyn. I always have. The more I know you, the more I know I always will. At one time, I could've given you the world; now I have only myself to offer you."

Carolyn placed her trembling hand over his heart and he covered it with his. Tears began to gently fall, but her voice was steady as she replied.

"If I have your heart, Captain Gregg," she smiled, "then I already have the world. What you've done for me…for my family…is more than anything I could ever ask for. I never thought I could love anyone the way I loved my husband. In a way, that's true…" She looked him in the eyes. "But that's true for you too, Captain. You're the finest man I've ever known and I…I love you."

She trembled a bit again when she said it and he understood why: It had been many years since she'd said those words to a man. He only knew one way to fix that; he took her in one arm, her face in the other hand, and finally kissed her tenderly yet passionately and then held her closely and silently.

"Shakespeare was right." The third voice surprised them from behind the captain; he turned to the lion opposite the one they stood by. A young man with shaggy hair a mix of light brown and grayish-white was sitting on it with his bare foot propped up on his knee; he was wearing brown pants that looked like bell bottoms, a white Sunday shirt and a brown vest.

_"Silence is the perfectest herald of joy,"_ he quoted. He slipped off the lion and disappeared. He popped up again on the railing at the end of the porch, behind Carolyn.

"If _my_ lady had said such lovely things to me," he smiled sadly, "I wouldn't be here…but then, neither would you."

"It appears," said the captain, "that we've traded one ghost for another."

"Looks like it," said Carolyn, "Who are you, young man?" He gave another sad smile.

"A fool," he said softly, "and an orphan…one who reached beyond his sphere…and paid the price for his foolishness."

He held his hands out to them; there was one big slash mark on each of his wrists. They were the color of silver.

"You _killed_ yourself?" Carolyn exclaimed, "How could you _do_ such a thing? You're too young to just throw your life away like that!" He smiled at her.

"I told you I was a fool," he said, "I fell in love with a beautiful girl who lived in a beautiful world."

"I see," Carolyn sighed sympathetically, "She rejected you?" He nodded.

"I should've known I had no place in her world," he said, "or her heart."

"Well, I am sorry for you," she said, "but I still think it was rash of you to do what you did. You could've found another girl! They make up half the world's population, you know!"

"Oh, come now, my dear," said the captain, "You're talking to someone who is young and green and irrational—all heart but no head."

"Yes," said the young ghost, "If only I'd seen you first, perhaps I wouldn't be rotting in your grave."

"_My_ grave?" said Daniel, "What the devil do you mean, lad?"

"I didn't even know where I was," explained the ghost, "I was just running along the outskirts of your town when I tripped and found myself in a cemetery. It seemed fitting, a graveyard under the full moon. I decided to use it as the stage of my suicide. I didn't even see the name on the stone until after I cut myself. I sent up a prayer, watched my blood saturate the soil and gave up the ghost."

"You killed yourself on Captain Gregg's _grave?_" Carolyn was incensed. "I don't care _how_ young you are! You ought to have some respect for the dead!"

"May I point something out, Mrs. Muir?" said Captain Gregg.

"You _were_ dead when he came along," she jumped ahead of him.

"And now _I _ am dead," said the ghost, "and he is alive." He showed him his right wrist. "With my blood and my sorrow, I offered a trade: My life in place of his. I always believed in ghosts; I thought perhaps one of them would benefit from it and have better luck in this life than I ever had."

"Why did you choose Captain Gregg?" Carolyn asked, discreetly taking the man's hand.

"His name was on the stone," he shrugged, "I didn't even name him, exactly. It was for him or any other ghost wandering the earth for want of love, as I had."

"How did you know to find me here?" the captain asked.

"Public records," the young ghost smiled, "I looked up your name and found your information, including the local lore about you haunting your own house. I got the address and decided to pay you a visit, though I apologize for my bad timing."

"Well, I," Carolyn said awkwardly, "I suppose we should thank you, but…but it's so horrible! You had your whole life ahead of you and you wasted it over some horrible girl!"

The young lover looked like Jonathan did whenever she scolded him. She sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I just think it's sad."

"As do I," said Captain Gregg, "As happy as I am to be alive again, I hate to think it was at the expense of someone else."

"Then don't," the ghost replied, "I made the choice myself. You had no way of knowing and I daresay you'd have tried to stop me if you had."

"Tried nothing," the captain said gruffly, "I'd have snatched the dagger out of your hands and flung it into the sea. Then I'd have tossed you in the brig for a day and put you to work swabbing the deck. I'd have kept you too busy to even _think_ about suicide were you aboard _my_ vessel!"

The ghost looked weirdly at Carolyn.

"He was a sea captain," she smiled, "You get used to it after a while."

"Oh," he said, "At any rate, it's done now. And I have to say I rather like the afterlife. I have so much access and freedom! I feel lighter, like a weight's been lifted! This may make you sad, but I've never been happier."

"If you need any advice on being a ghost, feel free to pop over anytime," said the captain.

"Aye-aye, Captain," he saluted, "Thank you."

"What's your name?" Carolyn asked.

"Oh, pardon me," he said, "My name is Elliott Jeffries."

"I'm Carolyn Muir," she nodded.

"Pleased to meet you," he nodded back, "And don't worry: After I died and invoked the…spell, I guess you could call it…my body entered the grave in place of yours, Captain Gregg, so there'll be no investigation. I was an orphan too, so no one will come looking for me."

"So you'll just float around Schooner Bay, wandering aimlessly with nothing to do?" said Carolyn.

"At first," he shrugged again, "just until I get used to the town. I'm sure there's an empty beach house somewhere around here that could shelter a new ghost."

"I have just the man for you, my lad," the captain smiled with mischievous glee.

"Oh, Captain, not tonight," Carolyn objected, "Let's break him into it gently; after all, it's not often a man changes ghosts." Captain Gregg and wrapped an arm around her.

"Very well, my dear," he said, "Let that codfish have one night of undisturbed slumber." For the first time, Elliott laughed happily and heartily.

"I don't know who you're talking about," he chimed, "but I love the way you're talking about him! Boy, am I glad I chose you, Captain Gregg. I think I'm going to like this town! Good night!"

He was gone in a blink. Daniel and Carolyn looked out on the lawn.

"Nice young man," she mused, "I think he'll fit in nicely, for a ghost." She cast him a sideways glance and started to walk to the door. "And you'll fit in nicely, too…" She turned her head back to him with that cheeky look in her captivating eyes. "For a man."

Captain Daniel Gregg straightened up indignantly and strode up to the door saying, "Blasted woman!" He paused and smiled to himself.

"How I love you."

* * *

The ghost of Elliott Jeffries watched him walk inside and smiled affectionately to himself. No one had ever fussed over him the way that lady had; he certainly hadn't expected anyone to mourn his death. He felt something for her that he supposed must be the way a son feels toward his mother. And that captain to whom he had traded his mortality had such a commanding presence. These were people worth knowing, he knew. They were finer than anyone he'd known in life. If only he could've been born into a family of theirs.

_'Oh, well,'_ he thought, _'I'm here now.'_

And he was here and she was here and they were together. From the way those two were, he figured that was as it should be. As far as Elliott could tell, he'd done a good deed.

He reappeared on the beach and looked up at the moon.

"Let's go," he jerked his head and walked along the beach with the waves dancing in the moonlight. On his hip swung the dagger he'd done himself in with; now it would be a weapon of defense.

"I apologize," he said to the moon, "I guess silver's not so bad after all."

THE END

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**Author's Review****:**  
Somebody hand me a Dr. Pepper so I can get the taste of cheese out of my mouth! LOL I know that was really cheesy, but then I guess half the stuff they did on the show was the same way (like the seal episode; I think that was a stupid episode).

Anyway, I hope you guys like Elliott, because I'm hoping to use him in another story that may or may not get uploaded, depending on how my inner muse feels about it (y'all know what that's like, right?). Except in the next story I'll have to completely redo his suicide scene so that it'll all work the way I want it to.

I've also got a one-shot coming up soon, so I'm not totally off the GaMM kick yet! Hope you enjoyed this and hope you enjoy more!

Sincerely Yours,  
-samuraistar =^.^=


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